THE TOP CERAMIC TILE MANUFACTURER IN VOLUME & VALUE 2009

On the following document and continuing with the line that we draft yesterday, we are publishing the results of our survey of the largest world ceramic groups, a survey that after just three years has become an eagerly-awaited appointment
for all players in the sector (companies, institutes, funds and opinion makers) who make regular use of the data.
To further improve the survey, this year we are presenting the results for 2009 with rankings according to two different criteria.
Along with the ranking by production output - which continues to be the only suitable criterion for making an objective comparison between companies that differ enormously in terms of size, geographical location and product
quality - we have added a ranking by value. The following are a few points to facilitate interpretation of the tables.
For groups operating in a number of different areas of the ceramic industry, the published turnover data refer to the group turnover and therefore include revenues generated not just from the production and sale of tiles but also from
activities in other segments such as sanitaryware, tableware, bathroom furnishing and raw materials, or even direct distribution (as indicated in the column for sectors of activity).
For the sake of uniformity we have excluded shares of turnover generated by other group businesses. For this reason the ranking by value does not allow a direct
comparison to be made between companies with a number of business activities and companies that operate solely in the tile segment.
For the same reason, the two rankings are not intended to provide a direct comparison between volumes and values (and even less to obtain estimates of average selling prices for each group), but to offer the most comprehensive
overall picture possible of the various players in the global arena.
The two rankings naturally include different companies: the top 25 producers by volume are not necessarily the top 25 by value.

RAK, Ceramica Cleopatra and Marazzi Group feature amongst
the top five groups in both rankings, albeit in different positions
by volume and value. The rest of the rankings are much more heterogeneous.
The Chinese companies are not included in the rankings as they
provide only figures for production capacity, although the top
10 are listed in a separate table. Asia accounts for the largest
volumes.
In 2009 the ranking by volume of the largest groups, which together
account for around 15-20% of world production, maintained a
more or less uniform distribution in all continents. In other words, the
ranking for the largest groups faithfully reflects the geographical
location of world ceramic tile production.
The biggest manufacturing presence is in Asia, where 9 of the 25 ranked groups are located.
The Asian producers are also the ones that have been less affected by the fall in production triggered by the international crisis. Europe (including Turkey) is in second place with 8 groups, followed by the Americas with 6 and Africa
with 2 groups. The common factor shared by the groups topping the ranking of world production is internationalisation of production given that the majority have factories located in more than one country.
Italy dominates in terms of value This year’s new feature is the ranking based on turnover generated by the largest world groups.
This classification reveals a very different geographical distribution
to that obtained from the ranking by volume. The groups that generate the biggest turnovers are mainly located in Europe or in any case in mature market where
consumers are more inclined to purchase products with greater added value.
Italian companies dominate the ranking and form the largest national group.
These companies operate almost exclusively in the field of tile production and in spite of having outputs of below 24 million sq.m/year nonetheless generate turnovers that reflect average selling prices - and therefore product quality
- well above those of many foreign competitors. The ranking is topped by the Roca Group (although the majority of its consolidated turnover is in the sanitaryware
segment).
Only three Asian groups feature in the ranking. The ranking does not include groups for which 2009 turnovers are not yet available. To provide as comprehensive a
picture as possible, below the table we have provided the 2008 turnover figures for groups that would in any case have ranked amongst the top 25 world groups in terms of
value.